USAF General: If China attacks Taiwan, US will strike Chinese communist logistics 中國若犯台 美空軍副參謀長：美國會打擊中國後勤補給 自由時報: Geostrategery and Taiwan Republic 台灣国 classrooms

美國空軍負責戰略整合的中將副參謀長希諾特（Clinton Hinote）6日警告，如果中國侵略台灣，美國會鎖定打擊中國的核心後勤補給，並讓犯台變成「史上最艱難軍事行動之一」。希諾特出席大西洋理事會（The Atlantic Council）一場未來空戰研討會時說：「我們將使得對我們的朋友（台灣）採取軍事攻擊行動，變得非常艱難，我希望我們的潛在對手中國，如果深思穿越90英里海峽並與台灣作戰的困難，會想到這一點。」他補充說，「我希望他們能明白，我們不會讓他們的後勤暢通。」希諾特強調，美方將竭盡所能阻止中國犯台，並讓犯台成為史上最艱難的軍事行動之一。他也以侵略台灣的威脅，說明美國戰略方針需專注於維持當前的「均勢」（balance of power），而不是推翻或擾亂其中心。

My impression, anecdotally, is that ever since former Prime Minister Abe sounded the alarm re: the possibility of the Chinese communists launching an invasion to annex Taiwan Republic (An emergency for Taiwan is an emergency for Japan, hence an emergency for America.) – not a month passes without a major civilian or military leader in the US and Japan making unusual comments about Chinese communist military adventurism, and signs of concrete preparation on the US, Japan, and democratic allied side. President Biden’s repeated strategic clarity regarding a Chinese communist military invasion to annex Taiwan, seen in this broader context, suggest that – like the US and UK before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Washington and Tokyo are seeing troubling intelligence regarding Beijing’s intentions. In decades of following this, I have, for example, never heard a senior US military leader speak so concretely of what will occur during a China-Taiwan-Japan-US war. For all of the theorizing and arguments over abstractions like the One China Policy and Strategic Ambiguity – or even what that magical ‘cross-strait’ status quo means – the lesson of Ukraine is that democracies must act earlier and firmer to prevent an invasion from a dictatorship – and that dictators care primarily about the survival of their dictatorship, above anything else. How to communicate clearly to Beijing that the use of force will end the Chinese communist dictatorship, that’s the only policy-making issue that matters. 27.9.2022

© Taiwan in World History 台灣與世界歷史. This site grants open access for educational and not-for-profit use. Maps and illustrations are borrowed under educational and not-for-profit fair use. If you are the rights holder and prefer to not have your work shared, please email TaiwanWorldHistory (at) Gmail (dot) com and the content will be removed.